


Candy Cane

by Lullabymoon



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M, sparky advent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-11
Updated: 2013-12-11
Packaged: 2018-01-04 07:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1078305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lullabymoon/pseuds/Lullabymoon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The smell of peppermint brings back a memory as well as bringing hope. </p><p>Written for the john_elizabeth advent calendar 2013.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Candy Cane

John barely blinked as he looked through the glass of the observation bay, but he knew it was Rodney that sat down beside him. 

"They're still running tests, should be another couple of hours." 

John gave a short nod but didn't say anything else. 

The sound of crunching and the smell of peppermint eventually broke through. 

"What the hell are you eating?"

Rodney looked a little surprised. "Oh this? Candy cane. Apparently Madison didn't want us to miss out on Christmas so they arrived on the last Daedalus run."

"I though Christmas was still a week away."

"Not any more."

"Guess we've been a little distracted." John shrugged as he said the last word.

Rodney nodded around a mouthful of the candy cane. 

"I though you were in there with Keller and Carson?"

"I finished my tests, and they said I was just getting in the way of finishing theirs. 

"And they'll be another couple of hours?" John finally dragged his gaze away from the room below.

Rodney nodded again but sat transfixed at the window.

"And?" It came out more forcefully than he intended.

Rodney stopped chewing the candy cane, and the bravado dropped away. "The nanites are a little different, like something's been testing them, as well as general adaptations, that sort of thing, but the history of the code seems the same."

He looked almost hopeful, and John looked back down into the room. He couldn't see the face of the woman they had brought back for the medic standing in the way, but he had stared enough in the past hours to know she looked exactly like Elizabeth. 

No guarantee it was her though. They'd, all right, he'd been burnt enough before that he wasn't calling the woman Elizabeth yet. He wasn't sure if keeping her sedated for the moment was a blessing or a curse. 

Time not to think. 

"Got anymore of them?" He glanced back at Rodney. 

"Hmm? Oh, yes." Rodney patted down his pocket and pulled out an untouched candy cane, all without moving his gaze from the lookalike. 

"So do you think?" He stared down at the candy in his hand. 

Rodney opened his mouth a couple of times. "It could be." He knew Rodney well enough to see he hoped she was. 

The candy cane snapped in his hands. A fresh burst of peppermint filled the air, and maybe this wasn't the best idea. All it did was bring back memories of their first Christmas in Atlantis, one of their first proper comfortable private conversations. They'd been laughing at the botanists' attempts to find something like mistletoe, and she'd said it was candy canes she missed most at this time of year. He'd adored the soft look that came over her face as she talked about her childhood, how they'd always had candy canes strung along the fireplace, and he'd vowed to get her one when they got back in touch with Earth. 

He never did. A stupid thing to regret really, especially on top of all the other regrets he had. He stared down at it for a moment before he slipped the top half in a pocket for later.

Rodney pulled out his tablet and started munching mindlessly as he muttered to himself. John knew he wasn't going to get any answers out of him any time soon without a lot of prodding, and he didn't have the patience for that now without leaving some marks. 

The medic moved out the way anyway, and he could see the woman's face again. 

He tried not to stare again. She looked exactly like her, but then that had happened before. 

He stood. If only there were something for him to actually do other than stand around and wait for results. He should have gone with the team to ask the villagers where she had come from, but Woolsey had vetoed that idea. A small part of him knew he was right and that he would rather be here in case any results came back early. 

This was pointless. He forced himself down onto the chair again and bit rather viciously into the remaining section of candy cane. 

It had been one of the first times he had seen her completely unguarded. There had been plenty of times in the following years, but that time still stuck in his mind when he thought of Christmas. 

Stupid regret.

Teyla and Ronan entered before he could inflict more suffering on the candy cane. "The villagers were unaware of her before she collapsed on the village boundary." Teyla said before he could ask. She looked down at the woman on the bed. "What do the tests say?"

Rodney looked up from his screen. "Well she's not a replicator, and the nanites look promising." He was smiling.

John couldn't quite bring himself to feel optimistic just yet. "The docs are still running more tests."

Teyla nodded. 

Ronan lent against the side wall and stared down. "Do we think it's really her this time?"

No one spoke. Even Rodney avoided looking at Ronan. 

Ronan pushed himself off the wall, and no one stopped him as he stormed out the door. 

"Major Lorne and Doctor Zelenka were examining the DHD, but they were unsure about any results." She looked at Ronan's retreating form as she spoke. She turned to John. "I'm sure you would benefit from sparring as well."

"Nah, he needs to break in the newer Marines."

He knew Teyla could see right through his answer, but thankfully all she did was nod her head slightly. She sat down beside him and looked at the remains of the cane in his hand but still didn't say anything.

It grew quiet again, the only sound Rodney's occasional mutterings. 

He was about to crawl out of his skin when Keller and Carson finally appeared. 

They were both smiling. 

"It's her?" He finally let hope bloom as he stood.

Carson grinned. "Aye. We've run every test we can think of, and the short of it is that's Elizabeth Weir on the bed."

"You're sure?" It was hard to let hope finally break free. 

"Every test says it's her." Keller spoke.

"So can we wake her?" He took a step towards Carson, and he knew how hopeful he sounded.

"I wouldn’t advise it just yet. Whatever happened to her was quite traumatic, and the nanites are still repairing the damage. I'd imagine she'd want them neutralised before we wake her, and I won’t feel comfortable doing that for a couple of hours or so."

"But we will." He looked between Carson and Keller, could feel Rodney and Teyla wait for the answer as well. 

"Of course." Keller smiled. "It's just going to take a day before we can bring her out of isolation."

He nodded, and he could feel a smile start to form as it finally sunk in. He turned to face the window again, and he looked down at Elizabeth on the bed. His smiled widened as he leaned against the wall and felt the curve of the candy cane top in his pocket press against him.

He was going to get that chance after all.


End file.
